BRIEF REMARKS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION, MOHAMMED IDRIS (FNIPR) AT THE 2025 BUDGET DEFENCE BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION HELD IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX, ABUJA, ON TUESDAY, 14TH JANUARY, 2025.
Protocols:
Distinguished Chairman and Members of the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, I am honoured to once again appear before you today to present the 2025 budget proposals for the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation. This is a unique opportunity to not only defend the fiscal projections for the coming year but also to provide an account of our activities and achievements in 2024.
This engagement also offers a window into how our Ministry has advanced its mandate of fostering national cohesion, promoting transparency, and ensuring effective communication between the government and the citizens across all demographic, in line with our five-pillar Agenda, and the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu Administration.
The year 2024 was pivotal for the Ministry as we rolled out a series of innovative and impactful programmes to enhance public communication, deepen citizens’ engagement, and promote national values.
Below are the major activities executed by the Ministry in 2024:
- Regular Ministerial Press Briefings/Conferences:
In 2024, we introduced the Regular Ministerial Press Conferences at the National Press Centre. These press conferences serve as a platform for Ministers to render accounts of their stewardship to Nigerians and address questions to clarify grey areas in government policies and programmes. So far, 25 Ministers have been featured, promoting transparency and accountability in governance.
- Special Town Hall Meetings:
We held Special Town Hall Meetings in Kano and Jigawa States to engage with stakeholders in business and agricultural production. These meetings provided a forum to explain the incentives and interventions of the Tinubu administration aimed at boosting trade and food production across the country. Other town halls were organized in partnership with other MDAs to propagate the activities of government.
- Strategic Outreach Activities:
The Ministry conducted strategic outreach activities through Resident Information Officers in the MDAs and those in the States to engage with stakeholders on the impact of key Federal Government initiatives. Programmes such as the Student Loans Scheme, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, and Consumer Credit Scheme were highlighted to ensure Nigerians understand their benefits and implementation status.
- Convening and Coordination of the Presidential Communication Team:
The Ministry coordinated the activities of the Presidential Communication Team, comprising Presidential media aides, heads of public information organs, and Ministry officials. This has ensured synergy in public information dissemination and communication of government achievements. The Presidential Communications Team has also since commenced visits to key media organizations and will continue this in 2025.
- Use of Infographics for Policy Awareness:
To simplify complex policies and reach diverse demographics, the Ministry leveraged infographics for regular publications in national dailies and online platforms, thereby making information more accessible to Nigerians.
- Improving the National Information Portal and its supporting social media handles:
The Ministry’s Information and News portal has been revamped and reinvigorated, alongside its social media handles. In 2025, these will be improved upon to achieve more feedback generation, fact-checking, and surveys/polling on government programmes and policies.
- Strategic Engagement on the National Values Charter:
The Ministry carried out strategic stakeholder engagements on the National Values Charter, culminating in the drafting of the Charter and the Citizens Code and the subsequent approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). This charter represents a significant shift towards a two-way communication approach: inculcating values in citizens while highlighting government responsibilities to the citizenry. A comprehensive national orientation campaign will be launched by the President as we intend to employ multi-media platforms, outdoor awareness, and citizen engagements to drive the national orientation campaign in 2025 and beyond.
- National Reputation Management Group:
We inaugurated the National Reputation Management Group in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) to manage and enhance Nigeria’s reputation both locally and internationally.
- Sensitization Campaigns Against Vandalism, Insecurity and CNG Initiative:
Daily jingles on NTA and FRCN were run to sensitize the public on issues such as vandalism, security awareness, and the Federal Government’s CNG Initiative as part of its energy transition agenda.
- International Media Outreach:
The Ministry expanded its International Media Outreach through engagements with outlets such as the BBC World Service in London to promote the Tinubu administration’s policies and programmes to the global audience. Other foreign media outlets also supported our activities due to the number of audiences they enjoy both locally and among citizens in the diaspora.
- Relaunch of the Nigerian National Portal:
We relaunched the Nigerian National Portal (www.nigeria.gov.ng) as the official gateway for comprehensive information about Nigeria, providing a centralized hub for citizens and the international community. To promote the portal, handles were opened across all popular platforms and named Nigeria Explore to promote the portal and the Nigeria brand.
- Media Appearances and Interviews:
As Minister, I have consistently appeared on live radio and TV programmes on platforms such as NTA, Channels, TVC, Arise, BBC, and Al Jazeera to communicate the administration’s achievements. Additionally, special interviews were conducted with leading Nigerian dailies and international outlets such as Newsweek and The Economist, accompanied by op-eds on government milestones.
- Town Hall on Tax Reform Bills:
The Ministry hosted a town hall meeting in Kaduna in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations to deepen discourse on the Tax Reform Bills. This engagement aligns with the administration’s commitment to ensuring citizen input on policies and programmes. We intend to continue the conversation in order to secure the necessary public input towards fine-tuning the bills currently before the National Assembly.
- National Council on Information:
For the first time in eight years, the Ministry convened the National Council on Information, which includes Commissioners for Information, heads of public information organs, and stakeholders. This council serves as the apex policymaking organ on public information and far-reaching decisions were taken at the 2024 NCI in Kaduna with a view to improving public communication in the country.
- Establishment of UNESCO Tier 2 Institute for Media and Information Literacy:
We are in the process of establishing a UNESCO Tier Two Institute for Media and Information Literacy, which will be sited within the precinct of the National Open University Abuja. This institute, the first of its kind in the world, will build the capacity of Nigerians to identify fake news, hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation, aligning with global efforts. Mr President has approved the counterpart funding for the project.
- Partnerships and collaboration with stakeholders to promote government policies, programmes, and narratives:
The Ministry is constantly partnering with a wide range of stakeholders, within and outside government, to ensure the amplification of government policies and narratives, while also ensuring an enabling environment for the media in Nigeria. Our key partners include Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Media Complaints Commission (NMCC), and others.
The Ministry has provided, through partnerships, technical support to many Ministries and Agencies to promote policies and programmes within their mandate, which has been very successful. This has helped buoy the role of the ministry in the federal system about strategic communication and reputation management.
- Promotion of Media Freedom and Holding the Media Accountable for their Actions:
The Ministry has handled the relationship between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian media most professionally, emphasizing equal expectations from the government, media, and citizens. For the first time in contemporary Nigeria, the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, explored the efficacy of the national press ombudsman in the case between a leading Nigerian daily newspaper and the Government, over the vexed issue of the ‘Samoa Agreement.’ In the end, it was a win-win situation for all stakeholders. We will continue to explore amicable solutions to occasional problems between the government and the press.
- Other Services in the Ministry:
The Ministry is digitizing the National Archives and administrative operations to complement the digitized financial operations and is requesting the support of the national assembly to complete the federal government press, which has been moribund for many years despite its central value in government operations.
With the support of the National Assembly, we remain committed to building on these milestones in 2025 to further enhance public communication and national orientation in service to our great nation.
We seek your continued support as we work towards a more informed, unified, and progressive Nigeria.
Mohammed Idris, fnipr
Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation,
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Tuesday, 14 January 2025
